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Bethsaida is one of the most frequently mentioned towns in the New Testament,
with at least three (Peter, Andrew, Philip) of the 12 apostles born there. It is
the purported place where Jesus performed several of his major miracles: walking
on water, healing the blind man, and feeding the multitudes. But unlike many
other well-known cities of antiquity, Bethsaida was never re-discovered by
modern (20th Century) archaeology. In fact, the site was of such importance to
pilgrims because of its relevance to Jesus' ministry that it was believed to be
a mythical city. Pilgrims, archaeologists, and travelers searched for Bethsaida
for nearly 2000 years.
Bethsaida is frequently mentioned in the Second Temple period sources.
Bethsaida means "House of the Fisherman". According to the New
Testament, Jesus performed some of his most important miracles there, including
the "Feeding of the Multitudes," and the "healing of the Blind
Man," and from the Bethsaida shores, he was seen walking on the Sea of
Galilee. Three major Apostles: Peter, Andrew, and Phillip, were from Bethsaida,
and later Christian traditions associate other apostles with the city.
Ultimately, Jesus condemned the city stating: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to
you, Bethsaida!"
The ancient Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius, recounts that in the year 30
CE, Phillip, the son of Herod the Great, raised the village of Bethsaida to the
status of a Greek city and renamed it Julias, after Livia-Julia, the wife of the
late Emperor Augustus. Four years later, Phillip died and was buried at his
beloved Bethsaida. According to Josephus, Bethsaida also played a role in the
opening battles of the First Revolt against Rome in 67 CE.
Bethsaida was well known in rabbinic literature as a town located at the
historic borders of the land of Israel. According to second century figures,
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel and the Emperor Hadrian speak of the abundant fish and
fowl present at the city. Despite the large number of literary accounts in the
Hellenistic and Roman periods, Christian pilgrim accounts throughout the Middle
Ages could not pinpoint its location.
In 1987, Israeli archaeologist Dr. Rami Arav undertook a ten-day
probe of et-Tell (literally "the mound") located 2 km from
the northeastern coast of the Sea of Galilee in Israel to determine
if the 21 acre site was indeed Bethsaida. His conclusions were
promising, but Dr. Arav knew more work must be done to reveal more
of the ancient layers. In 1990, Dr. Arav and several colleagues from
around the world joined together to form the Consortium of the
Bethsaida Excavations Project, which since then has been housed in
International Studies and Programs at the University of Nebraska at
Omaha. It is the CBEP's mission to excavate the ancient city of
Bethsaida, research the data discernible from the remains, and
disseminate the conclusions to both academic and popular audiences.
In addition to uncovering the Hellenistic-Roman city of
Bethsaida, a surprising discovery happened in 1996. In this season,
the remains of an Iron Age (time of Hebrew Bible) City Gate complex
were uncovered, which has led the scholars on a new quest-to find
out more about the Iron Age city that no one expected to find
underneath the Hellenistic-Roman remains. It is now believed the
Iron Age Bethsaida was the capital of the kingdom of Geshur. Geshur
is notable in the Hebrew Bible for its visit by King David, and his
subsequent marriage to Ma'achah, the daughter of the king of Geshur.
The past four seasons of excavations have focused heavily on the
Iron Age City Gate complex (one of the biggest and best preserved in
the region) and its link to a previously excavated palace.
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